Vision 2020 Forum allows locals to plan for Midland's ideal future

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, March 22, 2009

Whether that means a new thought about making downtown revitalization a success, ideas that would help provide more access to health care or initiatives no one else has ever fathomed, they want to hear about it.

"In this process we aren't here to be practical," said Vision 2020 co-chair Becky Ferguson. "We just have to think big."

The 7 p.m. Thursday meeting at First Presbyterian Church's Lynn Hall will give any in the community a chance to express their ideas about what they want Midland to look like in 2020. After gathering thoughts, the Vision 2020 task force - which has been broken into 13 committees that each will focus on a different sector - will research ideas and work together to create a list of goals for the community they will present first in September and then in a final form in December.

"There's a lot of issues we could deal with," said Margaret Purvis, chair of the Health and Social Services committee. "We would hope this would facilitate meeting the needs of the community."

Community planning meetings like this have taken place roughly every 10 years since the late 1960s when citizens gathered under a task force named "Objectives for Midland."

Ideas that have come up through these past initiatives include large endeavors like the creation of Midland College, EZ Rider and many of the current airport facilities as well as improvements that have been made to public schools, roadways and city beautification efforts. Some years the task force has focused its goals on infrastructure - like the development of a downtown square for the courthouse, post office and other government related buildings and in later years the airport - and other years it has focused on social services - like the creation of Hospice of Midland and the Housing Authority.

Out of the last task force, recommendations were made for mass transit, the creation of a skate park, and, as had been recommended in past decades, the creation of a fine arts facility, which will break ground next month, Ferguson said.

The various task forces are not responsible for helping fund their recommendations, but will be there to help research and spur movement by entities that can complete the projects or make the changes, she said.

When the task force began in 1967, Midland's population was about 63,000 and oil was selling for about $3 per barrel. When they meet Thursday, they'll be envisioning a future for a city that's grown to a population of more than 100,000.

And while oil has fluctuated in the past year from around $140 per barrel to below $40, Ferguson said, any who know Midland know the current economy won't last. Those who attend Thursday are being encouraged to dream without yet thinking of practical things like a project's price tag, she said.

The name of the task force, which was originally modeled after an initiative in Dallas, has changed a few times since its initial gathering, but has organized each time under the same goal.

"This is about what the community wants," Ferguson said.

In the health and social service arena, Purvis said she's hoping ideas are presented that could help make health care accessible to all children in Midland and to any who work, but simply can't afford health care while still paying for their other basic needs.

She said she also anticipates conversations about dealing with child abuse, violence in schools and other things to come up. But, she said, stopping short, she doesn't want to presume anyone's dreams for the future because Thursday is about listening to every idea that may arise.

Others involved with the initiative agreed and said, while eventually the ideas will be pared down, Thursday no idea will be considered a bad one.

"When you look back historically at all of the things, the different goals and objectives that have been set up since the 60s," said Cindy Lanning, one of the Housing committee chairs. "You look at those goals and see so many of them have helped provide things we enjoy today."

Lanning said they'll hopefully look at everything from affordable housing issues to green building that may become more prevalent in Midland in future years.

Before deciding on new ideas, said economic development committee co-chair John James, they'll likely consider how Midland has performed in previous years in terms of population, income and other growth indicators.

If the tax base provided through downtown businesses were larger, James said, it might alleviate the tax burden on homeowners. Other economic conversations may have to do with diversification of industries or a number of other topics, he said.

Ideas gathered at Thursday's meeting will be divided into the appropriate category and turned over to the different committees that are considering everything - the arts, parks and sports, conservation, education, economic development and other areas. About three initiatives in each of the 13 categories eventually will be presented, first at a September meeting where the community will have another chance to provide feedback, both at the meeting and through online forums, and then again in December when final goals are presented.

The final report first will be approved by Vision 2020's advisory committee made up of prominent business, non-profit and government leaders.

"It's nice to give people an opportunity to voice their dreams and actually have those be heard," Lanning said. "I think a lot of people know what they'd like to see happen, but don't know how to get that across."